


im not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you

by jinniefic



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, fake love triangle lol, fake rivalry, nico: is gay panic, school dances bc its my jam, self indulgent high school cliche fic, will is a math nerd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-01-31 17:41:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21450151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinniefic/pseuds/jinniefic
Summary: Nico had to act fast ...which apparently meant pretending to be fighting with will over a girl even though he was gayer than the entire cast of glee.Will did not like this guy and his business with his crush at all...nope, not at all even though they're suspiciously spending more time with each other than what is probably normal for sworn rivals.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 14
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

"Dude, just ask her out already. From an observer's point of view, I can tell you right now that this is just top tier pathetic. Also a little creepy."

Will rolled his eyes as Cecil looked at him boredly for a minute before continuing to color in his highlighter drawing of Perry the Platypus. "Maybe instead of staring like a stalker you should actually go up and talk to her. You know, like a normal person." Cecil stopped and tapped his blue highlighter on his chin. "Ask her to the Valentine's dance. That'd be a start."

Will's eyes shot open from their dreamy state due to staring at the back of Samantha Smith's light brown curls. "Cecil! You're a temporary genius! I was gonna skip it because, you know, dances are _lame, _but I mean this is the perfect opportunity!" Will excitedly patted Cecil on the back with a new hope reignited in him. Ever since the beginning of the year, he'd been so hopeless in doing anything near getting closer to Samantha but this dance could actually change things for him. After all, what guy you hardly know platonically asks you to a _Valentine's Day _dance.

Now it was the hard part. See, Will wasn't exactly "popular dreamboat material" in the high school hierarchy. And it wasn't that he was a super-unpopular nerd or anything (he was technically a nerd though if the advanced calculus class was anything to go by);he had a tight knit friend group and even had a few girlfriends in the past. He'd also say he was relatively attractive if you were into sort of lanky guys with a mop of curls that had a mind of their own. But again, he was no swim-team captain Percy Jackson or anything.

"Well, you gonna ask her? Or are you just just continue staring into nothingness while your eye twitches?" A loud bell tone rang out and Will clumsily pulled his messenger bag over his shoulder as he watched Samantha laugh with her friends. Cecil gave him another look. "Now or never dude."

Will sighed and followed her out of the classroom as she put her locker combo in and grabbed a textbook. "_Do it. _Do it now. Do it now man!"

"Cecil!" Will rolled his eyes as Cecil started making chicken clucking sounds. "I'm just... waiting for the perfect moment." A girl that Will recognized as Drew Tanaka walked over most likely to hand her one of her stupid Cupid Queen flyers that said VOTE FOR WHO? VOTE FOR DREW and Will realized it was now or never. He shook his shoulders out and Cecil gave him a short shoulder rub as if he were an athlete. "I'm going in. Wish me luck."

"You got this man. You are Will fricken Solace, mathlete MVP and student nurse." Will gave Cecil a look. "What? Should I have added this school's best guitar-harmonica playing act in there?"

Just as Will was getting mentally ready to walk over to Samantha and pretend that he was casually strolling in, a short skinny kid came running up to herand tapped her on the shoulder. _What the fuck? _Will was pretty sure he never saw this kid before, but what was he doing with _his _crush tapping on her shoulder and looking all nervous? That was Will's job!

"What are you doing man? Get in there!" Cecil hissed. With a hard shove, Will was stumbling into their conversation and was grateful to see Samantha look just as confused as Will. "Erm, hey Samantha!" He ran a hand through his tousled hair and grinned sheepishly. Will glanced over at the other kid to see him staring at him with wide eyes. He gave him a curt nod. "I was just wondering if...you, uh..."

As he trailed off, he watched Cecil frantically motion for him to continue then promptly face palm as Will continued to say "uhhh" very eloquently for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Did you want to go to the Valentine's Day dance with me?" Will gaped as he looked at this scrawny kid who he literally never saw before say his line as he fiddled with the end of his backpack strap nervously. Will scoffed disbelievingly.

Emo kid continued staring at Samantha's locker as she looked between the two of them, no doubt confused as to what two strangers were doing in her presence. "Um, what was your name again?"

"Nico. Di Angelo." Nico looked at Will when he said this then drew his attention to Samantha as she struggled to remember if she'd seen him around before. Will could relate to the feeling. "You have my sister Bianca in your precalc class I think." 

Suddenly Will remembered a girl named Bianca who took archery lessons with his little sister Kayla, but didn't know if she was the same Bianca. "Does she take archery lessons at East End?"

Nico whipped his head towards Will as if he forgot he was standing there trying to ask out _his _crush. "Uh, yeah. That's her."

"Oh. Cool." Nico looked at him strangely as Samantha also just realized Will ever stumbled into their conversation at all. "Will, right? You're the kid who wrote that song for the mathletes competition! It was... very creative."

Will grimaced because _of fucking course _that was his legacy- writing the song "Rolling with my Polynomials" at the last Mathletes competition. The song led their team to victory but he always wondered _at what cost. _Apparently at _his _cost.

Will laughed nervously and was displeased to see this Nico kid trying to hold in a laugh behind his hand. He did not have the right to be laughing at Will when Samantha _didn't even know_ of his presence before. At least she recognized Will.

"Did you need something?" Samantha asked, flipping a light brown strand of hair behind her shoulder.

"Well... I was actually gonna ask you to the dance too! What a coincidence," he said, shooting a glare to Nico. Nico returned it.

"Um, well...I think I just need some time to think about it. Thanks, though, guys." She looked between the two of them for a second more before scurrying off somewhere, leaving Will to look at Nico challengingly. "So, uh..." Nico started awkwardly.

"She's going with me," Will said with his best (as Cecil puts it) Mean Face. Nico didn't seem deterred, though, as he scoffed and retorted, "Well, I asked her first so she's going with me!" 

"Ok, you don't understand how long I've been waiting to make a move! Dude, I've had a crush on her forever!" 

Nico rolled his eyes and scoffed for the millionth time before staring up at Will with heat in his eyes. "Does it look like I care? All is fair in love and war, sweetheart." With a condescending pat to Will's cheek, Nico was strutting away all confident which was bold considering he was at most 5'5.

Cecil moved to pitifully pat Will's shoulder. "That's tough, man. Maybe you can ask your ex Lucy. Or Drew," he laughed. "Wonder what pour soul will end up being her running partner. You could be Cupid King, Will!"

Will hit him on the back of his head. "I'm telling Lou you're being extra annoying today. Let's see how she feels about that, shall we?" Just the mention of his girlfriend had Cecil adopt a terrified expression, making Will smile in satisfaction.

-

Nico was not having a good day. For starters, Bianca was 'sick' in bed watching Golden Girls re-runs with their mom Persephone which meant Nico had to get a ride from his dad. Which normally wouldn't be bad if not a little awkwardly quiet, but today his father decided to rant to him about a fight that happened between him and Persephone last night. "Who needs that much jewelry, Nico? _Who? _Not even the queen of England, that's for sure."

To top off the uncomfortable car ride, Nico found his stomach was grumbling more than usual. That minute when Nico realized he never took his hot pocket out of the microwave was the worst minute he had ever experienced.

"Good morning Nico," Jason said, way too chipper. "No," Nico responded.

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Aren't you gonna ask why I'm so happy?" Jason asked, smiling dumbly and making it therefore harder for Nico to consider not punching him. "Why are you so happy, Jason? You're practically bouncing off the fucking walls. It's _sickening."_

Jason ignored his halfhearted gripes and lit up even more. "Piper said yes to going to the Valentines dance with me. Man, I feel like an enormous weight has been lifted off my shoulders!" he breathed. Nico rolled his eyes. it was hard to feel excited about a stupid dance that served as a reminder of just how perpetually single he was. "Blow the fucking trumpets, Jason's practically-girlfriend said yes to the not at all stupid Valentines dance. Yippee."

Jason grimaced. "You're more unpleasant than usual. No offense." He opened the door to their world history class, gesturing for Nico to go first. "Something happen at home?"

"Just that I didn't eat breakfast and was up all night listening to my parents argue about Seph's jewelry addiction. Also I forgot there was a quiz today, so that's peachy."

Jason gave him an apologetic look. "Well, you can attempt to copy me like you usually do. This time I won't fight it. Promise." Nico sighed and looked to the spot left of him a few seats ahead. Great. Another spectacular addition to his morning.

A few rows ahead of him, three to be specific, was Will Solace staring at Samantha Smith like she was some fucking angel sent from heaven who decided to grace their shitty first period history class with her fucking presence. Nico wasn't bitter. Not at all.

As far as he was concerned, Will could ogle her all he wanted, which is what he seemed to do nonetheless. He never actually had an actual conversation with Samantha as far as he was concerned, so he didn't exactly see Will's appeal in her. Bu that's all he did- he never 'made a move' (probably because he was so awkward and Nico was pretty sure he hadn't seen the boy when he _wasn't _falling) so maybe he just had an... aesthetic attraction.

This, however, turned out to be bullshit as he watched Cecil lean in and say, "Why don't you go up and talk to her? You know, like a normal person?" Of course. Ah, the curse of being a lonely gay in a sea of heterosexuals. "Ask her to the Valentine's Day dance. That'd be a start."

Nico felt his blood run cold as Jason nudged him and repeatedly asked, "Nico? Helloo, earth to Nico! Ah forget it." No, no, no, this was not good. If Will asked Samantha to the dance and Samantha said _yes, _then... that'd be it. Done-zo. No more staring at Will and Cecil try to throw Sour Patch kids in each other's mouths but Will and Samantha tonguing each other up much too early in the morning. Sure, Nico took a backseat on his whole crush thing because Will was straight as a pole, but it didn't mean he was exactly gung ho about the prospect of him actually dating a girl. So he was a little selfish- sue him.

Ever since Percy Jackson (which he still questions to this day), he's only had eyes for one other boy since, and it had been by complete accident.

See, Nico didn't go to a local middle school; he didn't grow up around these people who seemed to know each other and spat out stories like 'remember when Linda had braces?' or 'they dated for all of seventh grade, don't you remember?' He went to a fucking military school where they didn't even allow cell phones, much less school dances, and dating was a rarity.

So, naturally, when Nico realized he was gay and reverted into himself like a hermit crab, the obvious solution according to Seph was to give him the 'public school experience' with jocks, and nerds, and theater kids. Nico had to say- two years in and it was hardly any better than Westover.

Well the first boy he'd crushed on was swim team captain Percy Jackson, who got straight Cs and had washboard abs and a dazzling smile. He quickly found out that he was not alone, but rather apart of the 70% of the school's population that also shared this sentiment. Getting over him wasn't hard, though- it was hard to feel bad about losing someone who already seemed so untouchable. He hardly flinched when he found out he was already dating a girl named Callie.

Just when he thought he was doomed to be a lonely gay spinster, enter Will Solace.

The first time Nico saw him was the first day of their shared world history class. He was giggling and poking a sleeping Cecil with his mechanical pencil as he looked around to see if anyone else found it amusing. "Oh yeah, Will Solace. He's the student nurse and like, the treasurer or something, for the medical club. He's the only sophomore in calculus," Bianca had said coolly as she shot arrow after arrow on the Bullseye. 

After that, it was like Nico couldn't _not _look at Will. When he was riding (then falling) off his bike in the school parking lot. When he and his group of friends sat around under a tree like they were stoners even though they were just playing Uno. When he was passing notes to Cecil in history. When he was rushing to the cafeteria to be first in line for fries. He was pretty sure his eyes were, like, classically trained at this point to be looking at Will.

Then of course there was the time he went to the Mathletes competition to support his kind-of friend Annabeth, where he and the audience were treated to Will Solace happily strumming a guitar and playing a harmonica simultaneously as he sang about polynomials. Nico was in love at that point, he was sure of it.

Just when he was ready to try to (gasp) talk to Will in the health office, Will just threw a band-aid at him without turning around from where his head was buried looking for something in his messenger bag. He did, however, stick around to see Will blush and stutter out a 'hey' to the girl he remembered as Samantha in their history class which... had no right to hurt as much as it did.

"Nico? Your quiz?" He looked up at Mr. Brunner's hand held out for his quiz which was noticeably blank. "Bro..." Jason whispered. 

"Or you can keep it, Mr. di Angelo. Nothing exactly to grade anyways." Mr. Brunner stood there for a moment more before taking out a red marker. "Actually, we can see your quiz being graded right now. Shall we?" Nico watched in horror as Mr. Brunner drew an unnecessarily big 0 on his test. 

Nico whimpered and gratefully looked out of the corner of his eye to see Will not noticing Nico gaining the reputation of dumbest student alive. He was too busy staring at _Samantha._

"Nico, what the hell was that? You didn't do _any _of it! Quizzes are 30% of our grade!" Jason exclaimed, half running to keep up with Nico's fast walking. 

"Thanks for the reminder," Nico snapped. Just as he was preparing to throw himself down the school's flight of stairs, he looked up at Will and Cecil seemingly pre-gaming for something. His eyes laid on Samantha and he realized with horror what was happening...which was completely and utterly unacceptable. 

Just as Will started walking, Nico ran in a speed so fast that it would have made Coach Hedge proud over to Samantha's locker. As he sidled up to her, she understandably looked confused.

"Hey..." he muttered awkwardly. She blinked at him. "Hey?" 

Just as Nico was ready to make the excuse that he thought she was his sister or something, Will ran up panting and red faced. Gods, he was even more beautiful up close. Nico sighed as Will ran a hand through his already disheveled blond hair. "Erm, hey Samantha!"

As Will tried (and failed) at talking to Samantha, all Nico could do was stare as much as he could without looking creepy. He had a dusting of freckles over the bridge of his nose and cheeks and a small mole just under the end of his right eyebrow. He was the prettiest boy he'd ever seen and he bitterly wished it was _him _who was on the receiving end of Will's awkward yet endearing dance invite. The thought of the dance whipped him back to the present where Will was still trying to somehow vomit up the question. Before he knew it, Nico blurted out, "Will you go to the Valentine's Day Dance with me?" _Fuck. _

Both Will and Samantha gaped at him, and this was _not _how Nico wanted to be outed to him. But as Will glared at him and he realized it wasn't because he was repulsed at going with him but because he thought he was asking _Samantha_, Nico visibly sighed in relief. He actually didn't know whether to be saddened or relieved, but he went with the latter emotion. 

Samantha looked at him and Nico didn't like the expression littering her admittedly pretty features. "What was your name again?" she asked. Figures.

"Nico. Di Angelo," he said uncomfortably. Gods, couldn't she just leave already? "You have my sister Bianca in your precalc class I think."

Samantha nodded in realization. "Does she take archery lessons at East End?"

Nico turned his head so fast it was embarrassing as Will looked at him with a calculated expression. Well, calculated with a hint of hate. Nico guessed it made sense considering he thought he was trying to steal his girl which, you know, _gross. _"Uh, yeah. That's her." Nico patted himself on the back for his lack of stutter. "That's cool," Will responded.

Will made small talk with Samantha and Nico had to hold in a laugh from the pure mortification on Will's face at the mention of 'Rolling with my Polynomials'. "Did you need something?"

"Well...I was actually gonna ask you to the dance to! What a coincidence!" Will glared at Nico and he returned it. He was glaring less at Will and more at the predicament he got himself into. Being straight was _exhausting. _

Before he knew it, Samantha finally left, leaving Will and Nico alone. Oh, gods, what should he talk about? Class? No, that was boring. Doctor stuff! _Hey, you wanna be a doctor and so do I! We have that in common! _No, that was a lie! Nico cursed his father for his terrible conversation skills.

"She's going with me," Will seethed, but it was kind of hard to be threatened when it looked like he was trying so hard to look intimidating. "Well I asked her first so she's going with me!" Nico prayed a silent prayer that would never happen as Will whined, "Ok, you don't know how long I've been waiting to make a move! Dude, I've had a crush on her forever!"

Nico mentally (and probably physically) rolled his eyes at that. He bitterly realized that Will's crush was actually sort of legit. Nico hated being himself sometimes. Something snapped in him, something _ugly _that wanted Will to be offended or threatened (and probably notice him more) that made him pat Will's cheek like a toddler and say mockingly, "All is fair in love and war, sweetheart." _What the fuck did that even mean? _

Nico stomped over to Jason's car where he was predictably with Piper and recited the entire thing in one breath. Jason whistled and Piper looked a mixture of amused and pitying. "So," Jason started, gesturing with his hands as if it would help him rearrange the story better. "You interrupted Will asking Samantha to the dance because you like Will, and to _stop him _you blurted out the question to Samantha?"

"Well I technically asked Will but when he thought I asked Samantha, I just took it. I mean, I did want to interrupt him though," Nico clarified. 

"Right..." Jason said slowly. "So Will thinks you asked her and now he hates you? So you have a rivalry with your _crush? _ Dude that's so complicated!"

Nico sighed. Hearing it from Jason somehow made it sound even more ridiculous than it initially seemed. "I know, but what other choice do I have?"

Piper raised her hand awkwardly. "Well, you could ask _Will _since it's actually him you want to go with." She took a sip of her milkshake because apparently they magically found time in the school day to drive to fucking Sonic. "I'm sure Samantha won't mind."

Nico groaned in frustration as Piper put up her hands with a face that said 'Hey, just trying to help'. "But Will _will." _He made a noise of annoyance as Jason and Piper laughed. Yes, very funny 'Will will'. "Listen, I know it sounds crazy but this is the only chance I'll have at actually spending time with him. I know he's straight," he muttered sadly, "but I'm not ready to completely give up on him. I'm used to rejection and straight guys but can't I be a _little _greedy now? Even if we're at each other's throats, at least I'll be... you know... in his life. I don't know.

Gods, saying that out loud made Nico feel way more pathetic than he thought. It didn't help that Piper and Jason were looking at him like he was a goddamn puppy on one of those animal abuse awareness infomercials. 

"Don't worry, Nico. From now on, we'll do everything to make sure you're covered. You have mine and Jason's words." Jason solemnly nodded and for a split second, Nico felt like everything would be okay. That was, until, he remembered that the next day he would be pretending to be hating Will Solace because of his _crush _on Will Solace. Moments like these were when Nico really wished he weren't himself.


	2. Chapter 2

"On what island did ancient Greek civilization originate?"

The sound of an obnoxious buzzer filled the auditorium as a confident, slightly cocky voice yelled out "Crete"!

Mr. Brunner sighed as he turned to the next index card and read, "How many of the Ancient Wonders of the World-"

"One! The ancient pyramid of Giza!"

The sound of muffled groans filled the auditorium as Mr. Brunner heaved another loud sigh and drawled out, "What did I say about letting me finish my questions, Ms. Chase?" Annabeth had the decency to look slightly guilty as she laughed uncomfortably and murmured out a 'sorry'.

"Damn, that Chase girl is a  _ beast."  _ Nico rolled his eyes and looked at his backpack, which was now covered in Hot Cheeto dust. "Can you stop eating like you were raised in a barnyard and clean this shit off my backpack?" He sighed and watched as Will stood up from where he was keeping tally in the back of correct questions answered to say something lowly to Annabeth. "What are you even doing here, Leo? Didn't strike you as an avid academic decathlon watcher."

Leo just shrugged and continued inhaling his hot cheetos, licking the red dust from his fingers. "I could say the same about you, di Angelo. But I can take a guess," he said slyly, looking pointedly at Will who was reading something on his phone with a concentrated expression. Leo leaned in, the smell of the spicy snack wafting from his breath. "Because I don't even buy for a second that you're into that Samantha girl." Nico rolled his eyes as Leo leaned back, the ominous and almost threatening nature dropped. "I mean, who would be? If that girl were a flavor of Cheez Itz, she'd be classic cheddar. Boooring!"

"I happen to like the original flavor of Cheez Itz, thank you very much," Nico retorted. "Plus you just don't like her because she wouldn't buy one of those weridly warm burritos you're always selling out of your backpack which by the way, is completely justifiable." 

Leo just shrugged again and stood up, adjusting the tool belt sagging off his lean frame. "Her loss, man. My burritos are legendary. Anyways, I'll catch you later, short stack. Try not to let the fumes of so many nerds affect you." He saluted and left along with some of the members of the team, meaning practice was coming to an end. 

Nico's breath caught as Will caught his eye, but Will just glared at him and kept walking towards the exit of the auditorium. Right- Will was  _ threatened  _ by him. Not enamored. But he guessed it was better than when the blond didn't even know he existed.

-

"Alright everyone, this is the moment you have all been eagerly awaiting. With abated breaths and hopeful eyes, I announce to you.." The class rolled their eyes at Mr. Brunner's dramatics as he called for a drum roll. "Our first partner project!"

Everyone groaned, Will included. He shook Cecil's sleeping shoulder. "Come on, we're doing a partner project. Wake up!" 

Cecil yawned and rubbed at his eyes. A hand shot up in the back.

"Mr. Brunner? Is partnership mandatory or can we do this individually? You know, like some of us would be doing anyways even  _ with  _ a partner?"Annabeth shot a look towards everyone as the rest of the class collectively rolled their eyes.

"Partnership is mandatory, Miss Chase. Your partner, however, will be the person seated next to you. Good Greecians, where did I put my lecture notes?"

With Mr. Brunner's back turned, Will watched in fascination and slight fear as everyone got up at the speed of light in order to be partnered with their friends. He rolled his eyes as Cecil continued to sleep and mutter to himself and ran up to Samantha. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one with that idea as Nico also ran up to her, shooting him a satisfied smirk at getting there slightly quicker. _Curse his tiny little legs._

Will put on his Mean Face as Nico glared back at him, unwavering. Samantha looked between the two, looking uncomfortable and not in the least bit flattered as she packed up her books and materials. "Uh, sorry but I was going to do the project with Abbie." She looked awkwardly between the two. "Yeah. Bye."

Mr. Brunner walked by and chucked Will a thick packet as Nico hesitantly rose his hand. "Uh, I didn't get one," he said shyly, fiddling with some button on his backpack he probably got from Hot Topic. Will noticed that when he wasn't being a smartass and trying to ruin Will's love life, he actually seemed pretty....awkward. The realization made Will soften a bit before he regained his senses and reminded himself that Nico was The Enemy.

"That's because it's for the two of you." Mr. Brunner annoyingly turned around unbothered as Will just gaped. "Oh, no way! We are _not _doing this project together!"

Nco rolled his eyes and snatched the packet from Will harshly. "It's just a stupid project, Solace. Relax, Jesus."

Will just stood there fuming as Nico sat down and fingered through the pages, not seeming to care at all about being partnered with him. He was probably satisfied pissing Will off even further. From the back, Annabeth stood up flailing her packet around next to an embarrassed Percy.

"Oh, definitely not! I will not do a partner project with Mr. Chlorine over here! _Not gonna happen!"_

Percy wore a sheepish expression as Annabeth continued sighing loudly and making sure everyone knew how angry she was at the situation (also assuming that anyone cared at all). Will wished he was partnered with Annabeth- he would be guaranteed an A and they'd both be away from their obviously incompetent partners. It'd be a win-win situation.

Nico sighed, and Will was brought back to reality as he handed Will a pen with a piece of paper that had a phone number written on it. "We have to get this project done so don't make things more difficult than they have to be." He looked around before shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, avoiding eye contact like his life depended on it. The bell rang and before Will could come up with a snarky response, Nico was out the door.

-

Nico sighed as he practically slammed Bianca's car door shut in the school parking lot, slouching down in his seat like he was embarrassed even though it was just his sister (who was arguably more popular than him). Out of his peripherals, he could see Will unlatching his bike at the bike rack.

"Ouch, Nico, can't you manhandle the car door any softer? You _know _my pride depends on this piece of junk." She fixed her braid in the car's rear view mirror before putting on some lip gloss. Nico didn't know why she insisted on doing that in the parking lot and prolonging their presence at school even longer, but he knew not to push her buttons. Her car (shitty as it was) _was _her pride and joy, and it's ultimately why she works an even shittier job at the Smoothie Hut with the occasional babysitting gig. He decided to play Good Brother today and rummaged through her glove box full of cds, settling on an old Paramore album because that was as close as their music tastes got. Bianca was more Adele and Taylor Swift, and Nico was more Red Hot Chili Peppers and My Chemical Romance (and sometimes edm-pop, not that he'd tell anyone that).

Just for shits and giggles and because he had nothing to lose at this point, he yelled over the blare of "Misery Business" at the fumbling blond a few feet away struggling to unchain his bike. He leaned over to the driver's side to honk Bianca's horn. "Hey, Solace, need a ride?"

He wasn't surprised at all when Will just rolled his eyes and flipped him off, but a small part of him wished that his bike would spontaneously go up in flames like in a movie or something, making him so desperate he'd _have _to carpool with Nico and Bianca. But of course, no deity has ever liked Nico.

"Suit yourself, Solace." Bianca raised an eyebrow, but took that as a cue to rev her engine and finally leave the damn school parking lot. "What's your deal with him? Isn't that Kayla's brother?'

Nico grunted an affirmative as he glared out the car window. He liked glaring at things. Bianca rolled her eyes as she pulled into their garage and fixed her lip gloss yet again. She must have another 'study date' with some boy again. Nico bitterly wished he were a boy magnet like her, or at least had someone who actually showed any kind of romantic interest in him. Instead he was just the awkward little brother who was destined to a life of pining and unrequited love. 

"Nico, are you thinking about how much you hate your life again? It looks like you have so much teenage angst bubbling inside you right now, you could shit it out." 

Nico scrunched his nose. "Okay, gross. I just have a lot on my mind right now. Solace is my history project partner." He spared a glance at his sister, who was undoing her braid and trying to use her fingers as a kind of makeshift hair comb. "He's an ass," he decided to add.

"He's cute," Bianca said, unbuttoning the top two buttons of her blouse. Nico grimaced and waited for her to elaborate, which she annoyingly didn't do. The last thing he wanted was for his way-hotter, older _sister _to seduce his crush. "He's a little young for you, don't you think? Plus he likes this girl Samantha," he said, unable to keep the venom out of his voice. "She's like...really pretty. I guess."

Bianca rolled her eyes and scoffed, looking almost offended. "Jesus, Nico, not for _me. _I mean, yeah he's cute, but I wouldn't do anything with a younger guy- especially not him. No offense, but in case you haven't noticed, that guy is a total _nerd."_

Nico definitely knew that and couldn't help but grin fondly at the thought of Will, the stupidly tall, clumsy, math enthusiast. As if sensing it, Bianca looked over and laughed knowingly. "But you like that, don't you?" Nico went back to glaring as Bianca just looked at him, mirth in her eyes. "You have a thing for _nerds,_" she teased.

Nico couldn't even refute her so he just settled on watching his older sister straighten out her skirt and go inside where her presumed date was. Right now it was Tony, the point guard of the basketball team who was always complaining about people not being careful around his stupidly expensive shoes. Bianca always chose the stupid, shallow boys because they were easy to boss around- and leave. No feelings attached that way- a very _di Angelo _trait to have, he thought.

He walked in to smell the waft of a pizza his mom probably just popped in the oven from some Digornio's box before leaving, and all but threw his stuff on the floor of his room before lying down and blasting the stereo as loud as he could. Now all he had to do was wait for Bianca to yell at him and tell him to 'turn that shit down!' before turning it up even louder.

After about 2 hours of reading some comic books, contemplating starting homework but then playing xbox, and texting random reddit memes to Jason, Nico realized he actually haven't treated himself to a piece of that take n' bake pizza or at the very least, pizza rolls. He walked downstairs only to find the Simpsons playing on the TV and Bianca on Tony's lap, the pair very aggressively smacking their lips and groping each other, books and any materials for their 'study date' abandoned on the carpet. He rolled his eyes. "My innocent eyes!" he drawled out as his sister just flipped him off. 

He walked up to his room with his pizza rolls on a plate, checking his phone to find a text saying 'lmao' from Jason, a spam text from Drew and her annoying queen campaign, and one from... Will Solace. He curiously opened it.

From Will

Will: Meet me at the olive garden next to the library. Bring your packet and textbook

_What the fuck? _Nico didn't know why he asked to go to the Olive Garden next to the library, but unless he meant to give directions to the library and assumed Nico didn't know where it was, it sounded _dangerously _close to 'date' territory. But it couldn't be because Will was straight and he _hated _him, and honestly Nico was just so confused at this point. But of course, he had to go- to work on the project if anything.

To Will

Nico: so demanding. fine

Just in case, though, making an effort to look a little nice couldn't hurt anyone. He subconsciously thought about how his sister seduced her many boyfriends (all the things that didn't require him being a girl) and picked out a dark flannel with his somehow tighter fitting black jeans along with his tattered converse. Running a hand through his long dark hair, he couldn't help but frown. His under eye bags stood out against his pale skin, and his hair fell into his eyes way too much. He was the furthest thing from the tanned, brunette Samantha with a pretty smile who wore floral dresses every day. He wore converse from eighth grade that still had sharpie markings that said 'kill me' from when he was bored in gym class, and a smile that many people have described as 'creepy' and 'unsettling'. Of course, Bianca got all the warm and alluring features of their mother while Nico got to be the spitting image of their undead-looking father. 

_\- _

Will was pretty sure he had to accept the fact that he was getting stood up on his not-date. It had been almost 20 minutes since he and Nico decided to meet, and the shorter boy was nowhere to be seen. He lost count of the amount of bread sticks he'd consumed at this point.

He realized how weird it was to invite his arch nemesis to a study date that sounded kind of like a real date, but after frantically searching for his Starbucks card at the drive through, he realized with horror that his coupon expired today. And he didn't think he was exactly close enough to Samantha to be asking her out just yet without it being slightly creepy. Plus there was a library next door and they had absolutely no progress on getting their history project done.

Will's head snapped up as Nico slammed the door open, hair tousled and black backpack slung over both shoulders. He locked eyes with Will and sent him an apologetic smile before seeming to correct himself and deciding to send him the signature Nico scowl Will was so used to. He stalked over and threw his backpack to his floor before stuffing a bread stick in his mouth. "Sorry I'm late," he said, sounding not sorry at all.

"It's alright. Endless bread sticks, you know?" Nico looked at him puzzlingly as if trying to figure out what the catch was. "Right..."

The waitress who had been glaring at Will all night finally came over and took their orders. Will watched as Nico took a napkin and folded it over his lap before gingerly taking a sip of his water. He didn't really strike Nico as the type of guy who had great table manners, but he was getting used to being surprised by Nico.

"So what was the hold up? If you don't mind me asking," Will asked, subconsciously pushing the bread sticks to Nico. Nico looked at him like he was dealing with a caged zoo animal that bites, but eventually took a bread stick and covered his mouth before answering. "My sister and one of her flings. I spent like half an hour yelling at her that I needed a ride but she was too busy trying to get dick." 

Will widened his eyes at Nico's bluntness, but he looked completely unbothered as he finished off his water. "Wow, that's a lot of effort just to spend time with little old me." 

Nico scoffed and sent him a weird look. "Who am I to turn down free food? Even if it's fake microwaved Italian food that makes my nonna turn in her grave."

Will then learned that Nico speaks fluent Italian and was actually born in Italy, as well as a bunch of other useless information such as the that fact he's teaching himself to play the guitar and his favorite book is _The Odyssey. _Will couldn't help it- he was a people person, and it was honestly such an effort for him to even try to be rude to anyone. Plus, it was amusing to watch Nico gesticulate everywhere and get bashful when he realized he was talking with his mouth full.

He also discovered that Nico was definitely _not _a people person. It was actually kind of unsettling how much rage could be fit into such a tiny body, and Will could only watch in amazement as Nico complained about 'the amount of Parmesan served here', the weather outside, a woman wearing a hat indoors, chihuahuas, his undeserved C in biology, the remodeling of Hot Topic, patriarchy as a concept. He got so passionate, and the juxtaposition of this little kid who got shy around adults and had exemplary table manners having the ability to rant about literally anything was really amusing to Will. And something else- endearing perhaps.

"You're so cute," Will laughed as Nico was on some kind of angry spiel against parrots. He immediately spluttered and turned an ungodly shade of red as Will realized in horror what he said. Out loud. "Sorry that was weird to say. You just kind of remind me of a chihuahua- really small and cute, but actually really aggressive and stuff." Will realized he technically called Nico cute again and was digging himself into an even deeper hole, but Nico just sat there blushing like a tomato and looking at the table. "'I have to go to the bathroom."

_Good going, Solace. You freaked him out and now he's gonna climb out the bathroom window and steal your bike and tell everyone at school how socially inept you are._ The weird thing was, as soon as Will said it, he knew he meant it. Nico was actually really cute in a demented kind of way, and while Will always found girls cute because of their smiles or the smell of their perfume, he found Nico cute because of how endearing his scowl was and the way his hair always flopped in front of his eyes. This should've panicked him in a sexual awakening sort of deal, but he could only quietly accept this new information. He debated on saving himself the embarrassment and ditching, but before his moral compass could kick in, Nico walked out and sent him a small but genuine smile. "The food's here," he remarked pleasantly.

Will just sent him a slightly uncomfortable smile as he took a sip of his Coke. He took a moment to mentally regain his composure and not let any more awkward things slip out, instead choosing to gaze at the view of a mother buying a balloon for her son on the other side of the nearest window. He felt Nico's cautious gaze on him like he was trying to not get caught, and watched him out of the corner of his eyes open a few shirt buttons at the top and run a hand through his hair almost self consciously. 

"So how's the decathlon going? Is Annabeth still.... you know, herself?" From there on, it felt more like an actual date, a thought that freaked Will out more than anything. When they finished, Will apparently decided to run with this not-date date and insist on paying. "Seriously, I have a coupon. It's fine!" he said to a blushing Nico. 

After eating, they went across the street to work on their project at the library. Will found it a lot easier to work with Nico without being subjected to his constant glaring, and they actually made quite a bit of progress by the end of the night. "Well, my sister's coming to pick me up," Nico said apologetically. He laughed and poked at Will's pouting face. "But we're so close to finishing!"

"Sorry, my sister insisted on picking me up because '10 is where she draws the line' apparently. Did you need a ride though? It can't be safe riding a bike this late at night." Will politely refused but found himself thinking Nico's concern was cute. Yeah, something was definitely off in this situation.

As he watched Bianca wave and Nico smile softly at him, he couldn't help but feel like asking Samantha to the dance was going to be a lot more complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh will is finally having his first Gay Panic... so proud :'). also really sorry about the wait but it's the end of the semester for me and school is kicking my ASS dudes


End file.
